Summary
-
Naughty Dog's designer faced backlash over the art style of Eve, the protagonist of Stellar Blade.
-
The Gamergate campaign criticized the artistic representation as not traditionally beautiful.
-
The Stellar Blade team defended the artist's depiction and emphasized the importance of different art styles.
Earlier this week, Stellar Blade fan and Naughty Dog character concept designer Hyoung Taek Nam shared her artistic interpretation of Eve, Stellar Blade's protagonist. They quickly came under fire for “intentionally making Eve look ugly.”
Related
Stellar Blade is the sequel I'm most looking forward to from 2024
Sequels are often stronger in gaming, and Stellar Blade could be a big beneficiary.
The artwork was later shared on Stellar Blade's official social media channels, with the game's team condemning fans who attacked Hyoung Taek for her piece.
The Stellar Blade team defends the Naughty Dog artist's interpretation of Eve
Stellar Blade's Eve was the focus of the Gamergate 2 campaign. Those behind the hate movement have described the character's “traditional beauty” as something that should be included in every game. When Hyoung Taek published his first piece of art that didn't meet their standards, he was immediately attacked.
Dozens of comments on the art criticized Hyoung Taek's style, saying he made Eve look “masculine and ugly” and that working at Naughty Dog only made the situation worse. The Last of Us studio was also criticized by Gamergaters for including a diverse cast of characters. Commenters said that Naughty Dog's “direction” was the reason for the art style.
Shortly thereafter, the artist released a second version of Eve, which appealed to those who were irrationally angry about the first piece.
The Stellar Blade team also shared this artwork. While the second post was less polarizing, it still made sure to call out those who were dissatisfied with the first:
We're always happy to see fan art in the style of the previous one. It's not uncommon for fan art to feature more of the artist's style than the original, and we think that's a very important and pleasing point.
Since Stellar Blade already does enough to please its audience, everyone should just appreciate the art for what it is.
Stellar Blade is an action-packed game from Shift Up, originally released as Project Eve. It follows the aforementioned Eva as she fights against the alien Naytiba invaders to reclaim Earth for humanity.
